21 Special Operations Unit

"Capital ship 'Azumi' destroyed!"

"Assault Frame unit casualty rate exceeds thirty percent!"

The relentless stream of reports indicating disadvantage.

Kill ratio remains nearly one-to-one despite this imbalance.

The escort unit is performing admirably.

Even so, it is insufficient.

Over thirty percent loss in just one hour.

Combat strength diminishing as if being shaved away by a file.

The front lines fracturing like teeth on a comb.

"Storage bay! One unit incoming! Evacuate!"

Even now, damaged units unable to continue fighting crash into the makeshift supply depot, the storage bay.

Pilots are dragged from white-coated frames, drenched in fire suppressant.

If the front lines are a battlefield, the rear is no different.

Within it, Jin clenches his fist.

"I am……"

not a soldier for battle at a time like this.

The thought grows heavier within him.

And yet, at this critical moment, Jin cannot board the unit.

Even his students have gone into combat—still unaccounted for.

Defensive forces have not yet reached the final checkpoint.

If they are alive, the only possibility is hiding within the debris field.

All Jin can do now is pray they are safe.

As if answering that prayer, the communications officer raises a cry.

"Communication with the fourth-years has been restored!"

"Good! Can you hear me?"

"Sir? We're… we're safe…"

The voice of his student, heard again after an hour, carries deep relief.

"Losses?"

"All trainees are unharmed. But Captain Odd has been lost…"

"That has been confirmed here as well. Good work."

A communication achieved through relay by numerous drones.

Even a stray bullet, let alone debris, could bring a drone down instantly.

While the connection still holds, Jin conveys the next phase of the plan, close at hand.

Fortunately, the trainees’ current positions were not outside the predicted debris field.

They managed to retreat before being detected—thanks to Jin’s prior placement of key points.

The reconnaissance was worthwhile.

From here, the operation can proceed as planned.

"Second Force will push forward along the frontline. Advance from the debris field in coordination. Envelop the enemy between Second Force and yourselves. Break through to the rear."

Remaining hidden in the debris field until combat ends offers no guarantee of safety.

No—rather, the fact that they have not been detected so far is the miracle.

They cannot rely on that.

The moment to overcome the perilous barrier, at whatever cost, had arrived.

The Second Army was suffering heavy losses.

Yet they had volunteered for a mission to rescue the trainees.

Everyone at the training academy, starting with Jin, offered their gratitude for this resolve.

"Timing is life. The breakthrough point is here. One chance only. Do not falter."

"Yes, sir!"

"A single point assault from behind enemy lines. Recall your training."

They had conducted drills similar to this situation.

Compared to that, the current circumstances were far more severe.

The extent to which they had internalized their training was now being tested.

"Everyone safe—"

"A drone has been shot down... communication lost."

The communications officer’s voice, strained with regret.

Jin could not suppress his anger and slammed his fist onto the desk.

"The front is being pushed back. Reestablishing communication with the remaining drones will be difficult."

Understood. Still, we fight. Reconfiguring the remaining drones—

deploying anew to fill the gaps left by the destroyed units.

The situation tilted further during this.

"Cruiser 'Roxanne'—engine damage. Unable to maneuver!"

"Wait—spatial vibration detected!"

"Reinforcements?!"

The distress call, issued continuously since the attack began.

If the Second Fleet's rescue unit arrives, the tide may turn.

Timing-wise, it's not impossible.

Yet the communications officer screamed.

"No! It's humanoid! Twelve units! Overlighting from the opposite direction—bypassing the escort fleet formation!"

"A special unit…?"

An ambush entirely unforeseen.

No—regardless of whether it had been anticipated, could they have responded?

The Third Fleet Defense Force has already exhausted every reserve just to hold this position.

They would have been overrun by the frontal swarm had they held back reserve forces here.

And that holds true for the current situation as well.

Even one capital vessel shifting toward that sector could collapse the frontline.

If that happens, what awaits is the annihilation of the entire formation of nearly seven hundred humanoid units.

In contrast, the attackers arrived with barely twelve units.

The migrant fleet, as its name implies, is a cluster of vessels.

Twelve units would take time to overwhelm the entire formation.

Even if half were lost, securing the remaining half would suffice.

The higher-ups in the Defense Force seemed to think along those lines.

Frontline units remain immobile.

And near the sector where those twelve units appeared—

"Bad news—there are trainees there too!"

"Is there no available unit we can deploy!?"

"There can't be!"

Instructors argue among themselves.

Jin also thinks that against humanoid ASIDs, trainees would be useless.

Just piling up corpses uselessly.

"Humanoid, attached to the移民 ship... Ship Five!"

Jin's blood froze.

Mio was on Ship Five right now.

"Ship hull... first layer penetrated! If this continues, they'll breach the interior!"

The sound of his heartbeat was unbearable.

The incident from two years ago replayed in his mind.

Will I lose her again?

Just thinking it made his legs waver.

"Hello, this is the storage bay."

"…………Sergeant?"

A familiar voice reached Jin, who was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"Ah, Lieutenant. Just in time."

A communication prompt popped up on the main screen.

There, as expected, was the face of the blonde sergeant.

"What is it? I'm currently—"

"Replacement of damaged unit components completed. Swapping the entire cockpit block was easy, wasn't it?"

She deliberately covered her forehead with her hand.

'However, as capable as I am, I made a mistake. I swapped the cockpit block for an outdated model. There’s no one who can pilot a machine that requires manual setup across every system. You can operate it without authentication, but—does anyone else feel like volunteering?'

The blonde sergeant asked in a dazed tone.

Jin's expression flickered with surprise for a moment, then settled into a smile.

'Corporal.'

'Yes?'

'Thank you.'

An outdated standalone cockpit.

One that Jin, even stripped of his piloting clearance, could operate without issue.

He had always manually configured his own systems, to begin with.

Of course, the ability to ride it and the permission to do so are different matters—but for Jin, that distinction held no weight.

A means to stand on the battlefield. That had been secured.

'Instructor, I’m sorry, but I’ll need you to take over my duties for now.'

"You're a commander now, though."

The instructor shrugged, a faint smile on his face.

"Acting so pleased. That won't cut it—you're not a commander yet."

Jin thought that might be true.

He still preferred fighting with his own hands.

He didn't dislike being a commander, not at all.

"Go on. Show me how much your pupil has grown."

"Yes. Watch closely."

Jin headed straight for the hangar.

"Lieutenant!"

"Corporal! Assemble the gear!"

"Understood! What shall I bring?"

"Load whatever fits! More daggers, please!"

"Got it!"

A默契, as if they'd practiced together for years.

The corporal had watched Jin’s machine since its inception—possibly knew its preferences better than Jin himself.

No need for instructions. Weapons mounted onto the rack without a word.

Jin changed into the pilot suit while watching.

The ring slung around his neck. He hesitated for a moment, then shoved it inside the suit.

"Raven's settings from the Lieutenant have been converted and loaded. Minor discrepancies will be corrected internally by the机体's computer."

A faint smile touched Jin's lips. As expected—after so long observing his own machine, the attention to detail was impeccable.

A configuration optimized for raw maneuverability.

Only a sergeant before him could have judged such balance so precisely.

"Set B as well?"

"Prepared, but—please don't use it!? This is a standard Leopard model, not a modified one!"

"I know, I know. I have no intention of using it."

With a casual reply, Jin slid into the cockpit.

A floral crown displayed on the console.

An ancient ace carried this through battlefields throughout life—a talisman for victory.

The fresh floral crown clearly had been placed there deliberately, as if newly arranged.

Jin acknowledged the long-time technician’s thoughtfulness, closing the hatch with a quiet click.

Even after only a month apart, the cockpit’s air felt nostalgic.

"Corporal."

'What is it?'

"Let me say it again. Thank you. Because of you, I can fight."

He could not bring himself to say it face to face.

The blonde corporal shrugged in response.

'You can say that when you return. I’d like to see you come back—don’t do anything reckless out there.'

Jin offered only a smile in reply.

Promises were impossible.

"CP. Locate the third-years and the independent unit of humanoid ASIDs. Initiating launch."

Silently, one Leopard glided from the training facility’s hangar into the sea of stars.